After serving as the frontman of bluegrass group The SteelDrivers from 2008 to 2010, Stapleton released his debut studio album Traveller in 2015, which reached number one on the US Billboard 200 and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Among several accolades, he won the Country Music Association Awards and the Academy of Country Music Awards for Album of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year, and the Grammy Award for Best Country Album and Best Country Solo Performance at the 58th annual ceremony. His second studio album, From A Room: Volume 1 was released on May 5, 2017, reached number two on the US Billboard 200, and to date has surpassed 500,000 units sold. Six months later, Stapleton released follow-up album, From A Room: Volume 2, which, like its predecessor, debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200.
Stapleton was born in a Lexington, Kentucky hospital. His mother worked at the local health department and his father was a coal miner. He comes from a family of coal miners.[12][13] He has an older brother and younger sister.[14][15]
Stapleton grew up in the small town of Staffordsville, Kentucky, which is located just outside of Paintsville, located between the city and the Paintsville lake. He graduated from Johnson Central High School where he was his class valedictorian and attended Vanderbilt University where he studied engineering, but dropped out after a year.
Stapleton is married to singer-songwriter Morgane Hayes, who co-wrote Carrie Underwood's 2006 single "Don't Forget to Remember Me". She had a recording deal with Arista Nashville. The couple met when they were working at adjacent publishing houses. They have two children and live in Nashville.
What Are You Listening
Chris Stapleton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Girl you know what song
And I let it play again and again
You're in every line
Takes me back in time
Yeah tonight I'm wondering
Is it a cover band in some college town bar
Where it's na-na-na's and air guitars
Or is it something to get you through
Just a sad song playing on the radio station
Tears still fall and hearts still breakin'
Cause you're hanging on
Or is it a love song about someone new
What are you listening to?
I like to believe
That you're just like me
Trying to figure out how a good thing goes bad
I don't know
I can't let it go
Yeah it's about to drive me mad
What are you listening to
Is it a cover band in some college town bar
Where it's na-na-na's and air guitars
And is it something to get you through
Just a sad song playing on the radio station
Tears still fall and hearts still breakin'
Cause you're hanging on
Or is it a love song about someone new
What are you listening to
Is it a feel good song gets you driving too fast
The one that gets you moving on pass to pass
Or the kind you can't help singing along
Singing whoa
Is it headphones on on a downtown train
Or a window seat on an outbound plane
Is it LA sunny and Memphis blue
I wish I knew I wish I knew
What are you listening to
Is it a cover band in some college town bar
Where it's na-na-na's and air guitars
And is it something to get you through
Just a sad song playing on the radio station
Tears still fall and hearts still breakin'
Cause you're hanging on
Or is it a love song about someone new
What are you listening to
I put that record on, girl you know what song
And I let it play again and again
In "What Are You Listening To?", Chris Stapleton sings about a person who has ended a relationship and is struggling to move on. He doesn't understand why his former partner isn't able to forget about him and move on with her life. He uses music as a metaphor for the memories and emotions that are keeping her tethered to their past. He imagines her listening to different types of songs - from cover bands playing in college towns to love songs about someone new - trying to find something to help ease her pain or to distract her from it. He wonders if she's listening to the same song he is, or if she's found something else that resonates with her.
Stapleton's lyrics capture the universal experience of heartbreak and the way music can both comfort and complicate those feelings. The line "is it something to get you through/just a sad song playing on the radio station/tears still fall and hearts still breakin'" particularly stands out for its portrayal of the way music can provide a temporary reprieve from grief while also amplifying it.
As a final refrain, he notes that he too is struggling with the end of the relationship and with the frustration of not understanding why it had to end. By putting the record on and listening to the same song over and over again, he is both trying to hold on to the past and seeking some clarity about why it ended.
Line by Line Meaning
I put that record on
I am replaying a song over and over again on a record player
Girl you know what song
You are familiar with the song and its lyrics
And I let it play again and again
I keep listening to it repeatedly
You're in every line
Every lyric reminds me of you
Takes me back in time
The song takes me back to a specific moment in the past
Yeah tonight I'm wondering
I am curious about what song you might be listening to right now
What are you listening to
I am asking you what music you are currently enjoying
Is it a cover band in some college town bar
Are you listening to live music performed by a cover band at a local college bar
Where it's na-na-na's and air guitars
Is it a song with simple lyrics and musical instruments mimicking electric guitars
Or is it something to get you through
Or are you listening to a song to help you cope with something
Just a sad song playing on the radio station
Perhaps it's a sad song on the radio that triggers your emotions
Tears still fall and hearts still breakin'
It's a song that makes you cry and feel heartbroken
Cause you're hanging on
You might be holding on to a lost love or a dream
Or is it a love song about someone new
Could it be a song that expresses your newfound love for someone else
I like to believe
I have an idealistic view of things
That you're just like me
That you and I are very similar in our thoughts and behaviors
Trying to figure out how a good thing goes bad
We are both struggling to comprehend how good things can turn bad
I don't know
I am uncertain
I can't let it go
I am unable to move on or let go of something
Yeah it's about to drive me mad
It's frustrating me to the point of insanity
Is it a feel good song gets you driving too fast
Are you listening to an upbeat song that makes you drive recklessly fast
The one that gets you moving on pass to pass
A song that motivates you to keep moving forward and past your problems
Or the kind you can't help singing along
A song that's so catchy, you can't prevent yourself from singing along
Is it headphones on on a downtown train
Are you listening to music on your headphones while riding a train through the city
Or a window seat on an outbound plane
Maybe you are listening to music while gazing out of a plane window on your way out of town
Is it LA sunny and Memphis blue
Are you in a place as sunny as LA or feeling as blue as Memphis
I wish I knew I wish I knew
I wish I could know what you are listening to and why
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHRISTOPHER STAPLETON, CHRISTOPHER ALVIN STAPLETON, LEE THOMAS MILLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@nataliemanor4624
Anyone still loving this song?
@gmat1413
Sure am
Love Chris and his beautiful wife's music plus the band
@elizabethpeatfield6086
Of Course!♡
A Classic Is A Classic For A Reason....Always♡
IMHO ❤
@traceybaytops8681
I am absolutely still loving this song!!!Natalie Manor!
@draxxsklounst6595
How could you not
@traceybaytops8681
@@draxxsklounst6595 I absolutely agree!
@faallon97
It’s 2024 and I’m still letting it play again and again
@troyp6750
Same
@TheJonosborne
Who is watching in 2024? ❤
@CristyB66
Me!